


Clop-clops

by winter_angst



Category: Captain America (Movies), Political Animals
Genre: Being Lost, Disabled Character, First Meetings, M/M, Oktoberfest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-19 09:47:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22342273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winter_angst/pseuds/winter_angst
Summary: Brock is waiting for late friends when poor lost TJ finds him.Brock helps him back to Jack.
Relationships: Jack Rollins/Brock Rumlow
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	Clop-clops

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Steve-Bucky-Stucky (Chemical30)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chemical30/gifts).



> a lil something something for the wonderful Steve Bucky Stucky who wrote me a wonderful drabble on Tumblr and must now be thanked. I hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed. 
> 
> TJ is a precious bean created by Steve-Bucky-Stucky who I am honored to borrow and use. ❤️

Brock sipped on the watered down beer and looked at his watch. Ever since his friends started getting together they had a chronic issue of running late. And Brock, well, he was running out of patience. The town’s Oktoberfest knockoff was a bore in itself but with Bucky to make fun of the floats in the parade, Tony to complain about the lack of quality liquor, Clint to inhale all the subpar food, Natasha to scold him for eating all the said food, Steve to remind them that it was ‘fun’ and Bruce to recite the boring history of the festival it just...was extra unfun. 

Brock sloshed half his Solo cup down the front of his dark tee when someone tugged at the bottom hem of his shirt. Jerking away instinctively, hands raising in boxer reflex Brock wasn’t face to face with some guy who wanted to brawl or one looking to grab a handful without his consent. No, it was a kid. 

A shrimpy little kid, maybe early teens, with brown hair and blue gray eyes that were focused on Brock alone. In his left hand he had a smaller stuffed wolf by its paw which made him seem so much smaller than he was. The kid shuffled his feet, sweeping a wide look around at the mass of bodies gathering for the parade, and he wiped his nose with the sleeve of the long light green sweater he had on that said ‘chill out’ with a bunch of penguins. 

“Clop-clops?”

Brock was confused, his earlier annoyance at his friends tardiness now pushed to the back of his mind as he realized that this kid must have been lost. “Uh, hey there little guy,” Brock truthfully had no idea how to talk to kids. 

On a typical day he was more likely to chuckle at one falling off their bicycle than he was to help them up. But something about this particular kid made Brock want to help. 

The kid just blinked slowly at him. Brock began to think that the kid may have a disability and that only made it more imperative that Brock find his parents quickly. “Did you get lost?”

“Clop-clops!” The kid said again, bouncing on his toes a bit and looking toward the road pointedly.

“Is...is that your name?” Brock asked, feeling foolish.

Common sense said it wasn’t but nowadays people were naming their kids all sorts of crazy things. North, Howl, Gail. 

“My name is TJ.” the boy said, eyes narrowed in sudden suspicion. “Who’re you?”

“Uh, Brock. You asked me for help?”

“No,” TJ shook his head hard, drawing out the o. Brock looked around for an adult who may have noticed TJ. “Clop-clops!”

Brock ran his fingers through his carefully styled quiff, at a loss once more. He had no idea what clop-clops meant and he had a lost kid and late friends. So far, this festival sucked even more than expected.

“Where are your parents?” Brock tried, glancing at his watch again. 

Fifteen minutes. Honestly if it had been him shacked up with someone he wouldn’t be in any rush to get here either; getting laid beat Octoberfest in sleepy Avenger Valley, Colorado. 

TJ tilted his head a bit in confusion. “Mommy and daddy died when I was real little and Jack was a big boy.”

Brock skirted over offering his condolences to ask, “Are you here with Jack?”

“Course I am! Gonna see the clop-clops and eat fried doughs with sugar and-and honey and drink nummy lem’nade!”

Brock decided to give TJ a moment to realize the issue. And he did. Oh, boy, did he.

His big eyes went impossibly larger and he threw a hand over his mouth in horror before he began to weep, crushing the stuffed wolf to his chest. Tears...tears Brock hadn’t expected. He also didn’t expect the kid to press his face into his stomach hiccuping, “I losted Jack! I losted Jack!”

Brock suppressed a sigh in favor of rubbing the kid’s back. Really his heart ached for him. He’d had his own childhood scares when his dad forgot him places (sometimes it took hours for him to remember. Brock remember hiding in a corn maze with darkness falling and how every sway of the dry stalks was a ghoul out to get him. His father didn’t remember until the next morning when he didn’t have anyone to cook him breakfast). 

“Imma help you find Jack, okay TJ? I’m going to help you Teej.”

TJ pulled away, wiping his nose on his sweater sleeve again. Brock offered the unused napkin he got with his shitty beer and got a watery little smile. “How’d’ya know that my bestest friend JoJo calls me Teej?”

Brock let a small smile slip across his face, carefully leading him away from the crowd and back toward the stalls and booths. “Lucky guess.”

“Well… You’re real good at guessing!”

“Thanks, kid… Do you remember where Jack was last time you saw him?”

Beside the brats stall it was a bit quieter so Brock figured it was an okay spot to get the investigation started. TJ’s little face screwed up in concentration — the only thing missing from the deep thinking look was a finger on his chin — and then gasped. “Lem’nade! Before the clop-clops!”

Up the row of booths Brock could see a yellow sign and he figured it was as good of a place as any to start looking. He didn’t expect TJ to grab his hand but he did, watery blue gray eyes looking at him with trust and dependence. Brock absolutely wasn’t going to flake, especially not when this little boy trusted him so much. 

They were halfway there when a man shouted, “Thomas James!”

TJ pulled free of Brock and ran at the handsome man who looked somewhere between end of the world panic and crying in relief. “Jack! We founded you!”

The two embraced, the sort of long tight hug that told each other exactly how scared they were. 

“I said to stay with me, Teej.” The handsome Jack guy sounded moments from tears, voice thick with emotion.

“I know but — clop-clops Jack!”

Handsome Jack laughed sounding both defeated and frustrated. “I know TJ. The clop-clops are why we came but losing you — you scared me Teej. Don’t run off on me again, okay?”

“I won’t.” The kid was returned to the ground, free hand clasped with Handsome Jack and attention finally turned on him. “This man helped me Jack! His name is Brock.”

“Thank you, Brock. Sincerely.” Jack stepped forward to grasp his hand. “TJ is my little brother and he has an intellectual disability so when he gets away from me I always worry… Thank you.”

“It was no trouble,” Brock somehow managed, lost in Jack’s lovely pine green eyes and how warm his skin was in the cool October air. 

Brock’s phone buzzed and Jack released his hand, pulling TJ in for another hug. Brock took advantage of the time to check on his friends ETA.

Bucky: hey, Stevie and I got stuck in traffic and just turned around. Sorry man

Tony: I had a work thing come up and I have to take Bruce. Pepper is needed for PR. Didn’t mean to flake Rums

Clint: 👅🍑🍆

Brock sighed in disappointment. Though he appreciated Clint’s honesty he felt abandoned. 

“Everything okay?” Jack asked, concern apparently genuine. 

“If you call all your friends bailing on you, okay… then sure, I’m just peachy.” Brock’s nose wrinkled as he remembered the emoji Clint had sent. 

The sound of the marching band started up and TJ started to bounce anxiously. “Clip-clops Jack! Clop-clops!”

“Yes, yes,” Jack paused despite Tj tugging at him to go back to the parade. “Would you like to watch the parade with us? Since your friends aren’t here, I mean?”

Brock hesitated a moment before he shrugged. “Sure. I’m curious what these clop-clops are.”

Jack chuckled and Brock liked his laugh at lot. There was a growing list of things Brock liked about Jack. How kind he was to his brother, his handsome face, his five o’clock shadow and the rugged scar on his chin, his dark slicked back hair and his kind green eyes… 

“Horses. But the sound their hooves make on the ground…” Jack trailed off in time for the set of horses pulling a produce cart for the local supermarket to go by.

TJ squealed and danced with glee beside Jack and Brock thought he was sweet. And, exactly as Jack had said, they clop-clop-clopped right on by. 

Brock caught one look at Jack’s dazzling smile and decided that he would have to make sure he got his number by the end of this not so terrible festival.


End file.
